Supply Chain Management

This activity consists in synchronizing and optimizing all phases that a product or service passes through from initial procurement to delivery. To put it simply, one can divide an organization’s operations in two parts: the value chain and the supply chain; while the value chain defines the chain of successive activities that add value, the supply chain refer to the logistics that enable these activities to take place. In other words, supply chain management is what get the right product to be delivered at the right times for the right cost at each phase of the value chain. Effective communication and synchronized information transfer between all parties involved is essential to supply chain management.
 
Method:

1.  Develop a team building-like exercise between the client and different partners to build trust and open communication
2. Identify key data needed by each partner for its ideal integration into the client’s value chain. For instance: delivery dates, production schedules, demand forecasts, capacity utilization, inventory levels.
3. Implement IT systems, automatic data exchanges, management processes and incentive systems, to ensure optimal transfer of the key data needed by each partner identified above
4. More radical redesign initiatives such as re-engineering described earlier can also be the focus of supply chain management 

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